Brazil launches digital backbone for plastic recycling push

Brazil has begun a digital tracking system for its reverse logistics supply chain, almost one year after signing a landmark decree requiring half of all plastic packaging to be collected and recycled by 2040.

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change published an official announcement on Sept. 22 detailing the National Reverse Logistics System, known as Sisrev-BR, as an integrated module within the National Solid Waste Information Platform, Sinir. The system will centralize registration, results reporting, monitoring and traceability data for all reverse logistics operators, and access will be free of charge, according to the ministry.

The move directly supports the Oct. 21, 2025, decree that committed Brazil to collecting and recycling 32% of all plastic packaging by 2026, rising incrementally to 50% by 2040, while simultaneously requiring that recycled content incorporated into new plastic packaging reach 22% in 2026 and 40% by 2040.

The creation of Sisrev-BR comes directly in response to a widely acknowledged gap between Brazil's recycling ambitions and the tools available to enforce them — a frustration voiced repeatedly across the recycling supply chain.

Under the Sisrev-BR rules, reverse logistics systems must be registered annually between Jan. 1 and May 31, with annual results reports submitted by July 30 covering the previous calendar year. Registration data must be updated every three years or before the submission of the annual results report, whichever comes first.

Market participants say enforcement needed

Market participants warn that without credible enforcement, major manufacturers are unlikely to change their behavior, a dynamic the new system seems to be designed to address, as its recorded data may be used in oversight activities according to the ministry.

A recycler, speaking before the ordinance was published, said large manufacturers had shown little urgency in adapting to the new obligations.

"The big factories couldn't care less about this. They'll only wake up once they start facing penalties," the recycler said, arguing that major industrial partnerships would only materialize once enforcement and penalties became real.

That view is echoed further down the supply chain. A distributor said the market was grappling with the lack of a clear regulatory framework, with many different, sometimes conflicting, narratives circulating. The source said the distribution segment was actively trying to determine whether it needed to adapt to the plastic decree, raising specific questions about whether certification would be required and, if so, what type of certification would apply.

The same source noted a strong trend of homologation of rPE and rPP by many players in the market, suggesting that demand-side preparation was underway while the regulatory framework was still being defined.

A second distributor said interest in post-consumer recycled, or PCR, material in Brazil was strong but that substantial uncertainty remained around the plastic decree, particularly regarding how fines would be implemented.

"Everyone wants to sell or buy PCR," the source said. The key questions would only be truly clarified once they had a direct financial impact on those involved, he added.

r-PET market celebrates, foresee challenges

The recycled PET market, which has been competing against imported and domestic virgin PET resin during a prolonged lull period, is among the sectors most closely watching the regulatory developments.

Along with approval regarding the government initiative, market participants also expect challenges ahead.

A bale seller said the system will be a tricky point for cooperatives, adding that the market "knows the difficulties associated with government systems; when they are introduced in environments where people aren't the most digitally savvy, things get complicated."

The expectation extends to informal street waste collectors.

"It's an even more difficult level — you can't even guarantee they have internet access, even less access to a system," one said.

A bale buyer said that bottles may not be considered in the system, as "it's treated as raw material." The concern arises as informality remains a challenge for traceability, he added.

Some collectors and small grinders transact without invoices, contributing to price distortions and raising questions about how bottle collection and informal scrap flows will be captured in the new digital system.

On market fundamentals, Brazil's recycled PET market has faced tight post-consumer bottle supply after winter low seasonality, which has increased prices over the past couple of months, balanced by weak and subdued downstream demand.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, last assessed post-consumer Clear Bottle Bales at 4.80 reais/kg DAP Sao Paulo on Sept. 22, above a bid heard at 4.50 reais/kg DAP São Paulo, while r-PET Clear Flakes were assessed at 6.50 reais/kg DAP Sao Paulo, both stable on the day.